


Horrific Visions

by darkimpluse



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Romance, no one actually dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:21:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkimpluse/pseuds/darkimpluse
Summary: Wrathion experiences a horrific vison himself and it pushes him to correct his mistakes before what he has seen becomes reality
Relationships: Wrathion/Anduin Wrynn
Comments: 12
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's the first time i'm writing a story for this pairing and its been years since i wrote anything >.<. i'm sorry if i made any mistakes. Wow is complicated to write

_The chains have been broken, he is free._

Wrathion growled as he crushed the missive from one of his blacktalons who had followed Azeroth’s champions into Nazjatar. Venturing into the Eternal Palace to confront Azshara had been a trap all along, the sorceress had used the power from the Heart of Azeroth to break the chains of the last imprisoned old god. He had expected N’zoth to break free of his prison soon, but he was not expecting it to be so soon, he was not ready. There is still time, N’zoth will not strike immediately, he was cunning and there are still many pawns to be played, perhaps there will be enough time to prepare the champions and himself.

Taking a deep breath, Wrathion scanned over the last missive he held and frowned, his Blacktalons have discovered some sort of obelisk in the Burning Steppes near what used to be Nefarian’s Lair and that it radiated void energy. Any form of void energy near that place was concerning, deciding it warranted a personal investigation, he took to the skies in a cloud of smoke and ash.

His Blacktalons greeted him as he landed before directing him to the obelisk of concern. From a distance it did not look like much, maybe something a human or dwarf had built, but there was no mistaking the void energy pulsing from it. Against his better thinking, Wrathion lifted a gloved hand to touch the obelisk and in an instant a rush of void energy surged from the blasted thing knocking the dragon onto his back.

Wrathion barely felt it, distantly he heard a concerned yell but it was quickly overridden by the loud chorus of whispers that assaulted him, his vision turned dark and everything went silent.

* * *

Intelligible whispers were the first thing Wrathion heard as he slowly regained his senses, instinctively he tried to push them away only to realise that the voices were not in his head, they were all around him. The air around him was thick with the scent of decaying plants and faintly he could detect the scent of the sea.

_The sea?_ Wrathion’s eyes snapped opened in an instant and he quickly scrambled to his feet. Last he remembered he was nowhere near the sea.

_Where am I? This place….looks familiar_

Wrathion stood in some form of garden of sorts, surrounded by dark pillars of stone, he turned a full circle before realisation dawned upon him. He was looking at the main area of the Stormwind Keep, everything looked familiar, familiar but different, the white stone of the keep seem to have a wash of void coloured paint, the sky was dark and rumbling in the distance, the once lush green of the open area he once stood on was the color of death. Fear clawed at the black dragon as a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach.

“You mean to tell me, that none of your spies have returned? That those traitors are still out there?”

Wrathion’s head whipped towards the voice that rang from the throne room, he knew that voice anywhere. Even as hollow and as detached as it had sounded, one does not forget the voice of his beloved that easily, or the voice that he had spent so many months in the tavern of Pandaria listening to.

_No, no, no_

Wrathion did not want to, but his body would not listen and his feet took him to the door by the keep that led to the throne room. An anguished cry left him as his gaze fell upon those who were in room.

The Black Prince recognised Anduin immediately but it was far from the Anduin he remembers. The High King’s golden hair was a darker shade streaked with flickering purple void, the bright blue orbs were now a deep violet and glowing. His royal regalia of gold and blue were now black with dark purple gems embedded in several places.

In front of the High King stood the Stormwind spymaster, Mathias Shaw and the Void Elf, Alleria Windrunner as well as Magister Umbric. All of which looked the definition of corrupted, dark eyes void streaked bodies and pulsing dark energies Wrathion would never dream of going near.

All eyes turned on Wrathion as he walked through the doors, finally stopping as he wanted just after the threshold. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to flee bu the could not move as much as he willed himself to.

_Am I that powerless over the hold the old gods have over me?_ The thought was brief and the fear came clawing at his throat.

“Wrathion,” Anduin’s voice was breathless, like he could not believe Wrathion was standing there, Wrathion himself could not believe it either, he had dreamt of this moment since they parted they way they did on Pandaria, but the Black Prince sure did not like the circumstances of this reunion.

“He was right,”

Who was right? Wrathion wanted to ask, but he could not find his voice, a lump had logged itself in his throat, but Anduin answered him like he read the dragon’s mind.

“N’zoth,”

Wrathion almost whimpered, no, not Anduin, all he did, all he sacrificed, was it all for naught?

“N’zoth told me that if I accepted his gift, if listened to the shadows, that you would return,” Anduin continued, the High King approached Wrathion, leaving pools of void in his wake, “And you did.”

“Come with me Wrathion, join me,” Anduin had lifted his hand to brush Wrathion’s cheek, “We can rule this new world together.”

Wrathion flinched as the whispers around him intensified, Anduin’s voice echoing in his head, the gentle touch that sent void tendrils caressing his skin. A soft voice telling him to give in as his beloved had, there was no other way. His teeth clenched and hands shook as he resisted with everything he had, he could not fall to the void, he should not.

The dark pools of Anduin’s eyes were drawing him in, until the slam of the keep’s doors opening snapped him out of it. Anduin growled and Warthion forced himself to look away and towards the door, the guards had dragged in two new people, uncorrupted from what Wrathion could tell.

One of them was High Commander Halford Wyrmbane who had to be dragged before the High King, the human was barely conscious, his eyes unfocused and tired. The other was Valeera Sanguinar, the blood elf who despite her heritage was fiercely loyal to Anduin. Was. Valeera’s bright green gaze swept across the room before narrowing to slits as she sees Wrathion.

“The Black Prince returns,” Valeera spats, “Where have you been all this time?”

Wrathion was taken back, he wasn’t expecting to be addressed directly.

“Just as N’zoth said he would Valeera,” Anduin replied,

“The whispers spoke the truth, you will do well to heed them just as we have,” Alleria spoke, “Or we could make you hear them.”

“If you didn’t leave, this wouldn’t have happened,” Valeera hissed at Wrathion, “Stormwind, this world is lost because of you!”

_This was my doing? Everything I did was to protect this world and Anduin…._ Wrathion cast his eyes downwards as his mind raced

“It matters not,” Valeera growled, “If I’m to die today, I will not die alone”

Wrathion looks up to see Valeera had broken free of her restraints and buried a dagger into the guard that held her before flashing in an instant behind Anduin and thrusting another dagger right through the High King.

“Anduin!” the name came tumbling from Wrathion’s lips unbidden as he instinctively moved towards the other, but just as he took a step, a flash of searing hot pain had him on his knees and clutching his sides in pain. The whispers turned to roars and the shadows grew around him threatening to consume him.

“Enough!” Wrathion roared, a burst of magic borne of desperation and pain, to drive the voices away, for a moment everything was silent.

* * *

“My prince!” a familiar voice called out to him and Wrathion’s eyes snapped open

Before him was the dusty red landscape of the Burning Steppes and the familiar outline of the Blackrock Mountains. The two Blacktalons who had received him earlier standing not too far away, each clutching a dagger one of which was dripping with blood. His blood.

Wrathion blinked before realising that he was standing taller than his agents, he was in his drake form, black talons dug into the earth beneath and a flare of pain at his side suggested that he was stabbed not too gently by the dagger his agent held.

“What...What happened?” Wrathion growled

“I think he’s back to us,” one of them breathed a sigh of relieve before relaxing his posture

“Forgive us, my prince,” the other dropped to his knee, “After you collapsed from the blast from the obelisk, you turned into your dragon form and started attacking us, we hoped that would bring you back to us.”

Wrathion barely heard him, even though it was he who asked what happened. He could not focus, his thoughts kept going back to what he saw in that…. That vision. Anduin, he could not let anything happen to the human. Everything he did, his plans, all he wanted was to protect what was dear to him, that vision cannot come to pass, he will not allow it. He had abandoned Anduin to protect him, left him behind when they were in Pandaria, that did not look like a good idea anymore. He needed to go back, he need to let the other know.

“I need to go to him,” Wrathion heard himself growl, before he spread his wings and took to the skies, the wound at his side flared in protest but the need to press on was too great, he was tired, drained, but he could not rest, not until he found his beloved. He turned his form towards the human capital.

_Stormwind_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dug my own grave

“You’re telling me that all we know is that N’zoth is free, he’s out there and nothing else?” Anduin was livid, worry eating at him ever since the champions and Jaina had returned from confronting Azshara in Nazjatar, reporting that the last Old God had broken free of his prison. The weight on his shoulders just kept getting heavier, solving one problem always seem to give rise to another and the situation gets worse and worse.

“We are doing all we can,” Mathias Shaw replied, as Spymaster he was used to having information at his fingertips before having to report them to the young High King, but this time he had nothing, there was nothing to track the movements of an Old God, but he had one piece of news at least “Speaker Magni is coming along with a new advisor. Our champions have met him on the Broken Isles during the campaign against the Legion, I believe him to be trustworthy.”

Anduin groaned inwardly as he pressed his fingers to his temple to ward off an incoming headache. He needed a break, the world needed a break. Why couldn’t there be just a moment of peace, or just a moment to himself?

“Anduin,” Baine Bloodhoof spoke from the side and Anduin raised his eyes to meet those of the tauren chieftain, “Ebonhorn is a black dragon who has protected Highmountain for ten thousand years, I know the black dragon flight does not have the best reputation but you have my word that he can be trusted.”

_Another black dragon?_ _Am I fated to be tied to the flight?_

Everywhere they seem to find a way back into my life. Anduin sighed as he nodded in acknowledgment to Baine’s words, unwilling memories of his time in Pandaria with the Black Prince came rushing back to him. He knew back then, that the other prince could not be trusted, even still it did not stop a his heart from harboring these wretched feelings. When Wrathion had left as he did, Anduin could not stop feeling angry at himself, at allowing his heart to be taken by the one who left him behind. He did not have long to nurse his broken heart, the events on Draenor had led to another Legion invasion where his father fell. His responsibilities as the new High King kept him busy to the point the ache numbed and he was too tired to think of anything else.

The sound of hooves on the stone broke Anduin’s train of thoughts on the past, he looked up in time to see his old friend, Magni Bronzebeard approaching him with a Highmountain tauren at his side.

“It’s good to see you old friend,”

“Aye lad, its good to see you too,” Magni replied, “This is Ebonhorn, he has some information for us that might help us against N’zoth,”

“High King Wrynn,” the tauren greeted Anduin with a dip of his head in respect, “I do have information to share regarding Old God but I cannot take credit for them.”

“What do you mean?” Anduin was confused

“Since my hatching, Highmountain has protected me against the corruption of the old gods. By leaving, I had made myself vulnerable to their whispers and I had almost succumbed to them. I was only saved by the champions with the help of another of my kin you know as Wrathion,”

“Wrathion?” the name came out strange on Anduin’s lips, he had avoided it for so long, it brought back too much memories he would rather forget, his hands clenched into fists as he forcefully pushed down the ache that resurfaced after so long.

“This information comes from the journal entries that the champions have collected whilst they had searched for Wrathion in order to save me,” Anduin had to swallow a lump in his throat in order to formulate a decent reply, he had almost leapt up from his throne demanding any information on the Black Prince instead of the actual threat they were here to discuss.

“I-It doesn’t matter where this information came from,” the High King voiced, barely controlling his trembling voice, “What matters is-”

The High King was interrupted by a guard that unceremoniously rushed into the audience hall red face and panting, eyes filled with fear. A thousand scenarios ran through Anduin’s head at that moment, was N’zoth’s forces already attacking? Where was he? How did he not get any information before hand? Was the SI:7 compromised? What he did not expect were the words that came from the guard.

“Your Majesty! A black dragon has been sighted heading this-”

Before the guard could finish his sentence, a loud crashing sound rang out from the courtyard on the right of the throne room. Anduin leapt to his feet his hand gripping the hilt of Shalamayne, looking briefly around him, saw that everyone else had drawn the weapons, from daggers to swords and maces.

The High King nodded at Baine before slowly heading towards the courtyard, he could barely see anything at first, the air was filled with smoke and ash the grass surrounding whatever that had crashed were burnt.

The first thing Anduin saw as the dust settled was a mass of dark obsidian scales, it shifted slowly revealing a tail and head with horns spiraling from the crest with a gold band at the base of one of them on each side. Wings unfurled causing a burst of ash and smoke, they flailed as the dragon seemingly tries to struggle to its feet with no avail. Any doubt about the dragon’s identity were swept away the black dragon opened his eyes to reveal the crimson orbs beneath. Anduin knew those eyes he had spend months looking at them and even longer dreaming about them.

“Wrathion!” Ebonhorn rushed past Anduin who stood rooted where he was, unable to tear his gaze away from the crimson orbs that were fixated on him.

“What? That’s the Black Prince?” Magni exclaimed

Anduin was released from Wrathion’s gaze when the dragon closed his eyes and let out a growl, he stretched out his wings again as he struggled to get to his feet, swaying dangerously.

“Wrathion how did you get this wound?” Anduin’s attention snapped to Ebonhorn who was standing beside Wrathion at this point, blue orbs widened when he saw the crimson liquid dripping from between the scales of dragon’s side onto the grass which was already soaked with blood.

Wrathion on the on the other hand tried to move towards the High King once he managed to struggle to his feet, the once small wound at his side had be aggravated by the constant flapping of his wings in his rush to reach Stormwind. Every flap of his wings had tore at the muscle, sending waves of agonizing pain through the dragon but he couldn’t stop. He could feel his consciousness fading as more the wound grew bigger, vaguely he could hear Ebyssian telling him to stop moving. Wrathion’s legs gave out on him, leaving him to collapse on the grass with a pained growl. His eyes slid shut as he drew a shuddering breath, trying to gathering enough strength to at least say something when the scent of fresh pine and mint invaded his senses and calming aura washed over him. Wrathion cracked his eyes open to find the High King right beside him, his hand pulsing with the light and healing magic.

“You aren’t allowed to die,” Wrathion heard the words choked out full of emotion that he could not identify.

“Anduin, I’m sorry….for everything…” Wrathion breathed those words as a calming darkness overtook his consciousness, at least this time there were no haunting whispers, maybe he wasn’t too late after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No he's not dead don't worry


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still rusty I can feel it

Panic tore through Anduin as Wrathion went limp, the dragon scaled head dropped onto the charred grass beneath him, the High King drew more from the light sending waves of healing energy over the dragon’s form.

_You can’t just come back after all this time only to say those words and die on me!_

The words were lodged in Anduin’s throat as a ragged sob tore through instead, his eyes grew damp and warm tendrils slid down his face. Behind him, he registered Shaw ordering the guards away to their positions and into the city to calm the citizens, Anduin was grateful that the spymaster was taking charge, he wasn’t sure he was in any condition to face the guards let alone the people.

As the footsteps of the soldiers faded in the background, the wound beneath his palm stopped bleeding but it did not mend as Anduin wanted, frowning the priest was about to draw even more before a warm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“You have done all you can your majesty,” Ebonhorn rumbled, dark eyes boring into blue ones, “Do not push yourself any further, the light can only do so much, leave the rest to me.”

The air in the courtyard shifted, Anduin turned his gaze from the elder dragon back to Wrathion only to find the dragon gone and in its place was a very human like body with dark skin and mane of curly black hair, dressed in simple dark tunic and leather pants, curled up in a position similar to how the dragon was.

_He looks so different…._

Wrathion had grown, the growth from a whelp to an adolescent drake was a given but Anduin had not expect his human form to have matured as well.

“Well, that makes things easier, I’m far less practised in treating dragons” Ebonhorn huffed, moving forward to lift the younger dragon before turning to Anduin, “Your majesty, could I possibly borrow a room in the keep?”

“O-of course, this way,”

Anduin turned on his heel and started down the path that led towards the part of the keep where the living quarters were situated at. He made an effort not to look at anyone in the eye as he passed only stopping a servant along the way to request for bandages, heated water and cloth to be brought to the guest room nearest to his own discreetly. The servant had squeaked when he saw a tauren carrying another body coming up behind the High King before scrambling away with eyes cast down to carry out the orders.

The room was used to host guests in the past during events or gatherings that have been non existent since the fourth war began, despite its lack of use, the room remained well kept and clean thanks to the efforts of the staff in the keep that made sure everything remained in order and ready to use at any time.

The room itself was smaller than the King’s own but had its own bathroom and seating area before a fireplace built into the wall of the keep. High arched windows were covered in curtains with Alliance colors and a canopied bed at the other end of the room.

As Ebonhorn moves past Anduin to settle Wrathion on the bed, a soft knock at the door revealed the servant had returned with the supplies requested earlier. Against the soft protest of the other man, Anduin took the supplies at the door and sent him away, setting everything down on the bedside stand. Taking off his gloves and tossing it to the table he turned to help Ebonhorn, but before he could do anything, a stronger knock sounded from the door before Mathias Shaw stepped through.

“Your majesty, King Greymane has returned,” Shaw reported and Anduin inwardly groaned, of all the people right now, “He wishes to see you immediately.”

“Of course he does,” a tired sigh came from the King, he glanced at Wrathion’s form then at Ebonhorn who dipped his head slightly before following the spymaster back towards the throne room.

“Anduin!” King Genn Greymane almost pounced on him the moment he walked into the room

“Genn-” Anduin started but was immediately cut off by the other

“I’ve been gone a day. Only one day! And I come back to news that a black dragon had crashed into the keep?! And another was brought by Magni? Where are all these black dragons coming from? Aren’t they supposed to be all but gone?”

“Genn, the black dragon Magni brought has information on how to deal with N’zoth, something we desperately need a this point,” Anduin sighed

“So I heard, what about the one that crashed into keep? Was he trying to attack us?”

“No Genn, Wrathion was injured,” moment the name left Anduin’s mouth, his jaw snapped shut at the realisation

“Wrathion?” the Gilnean King all but growled, “The Black Prince is here?! In the keep?!”

“Genn, please he’s not-”

“Anduin! You know what that dragon did! You know he can’t be trusted!” Greymane yelled, his eyes taking on a yellowish hue, an indication of his worgen nature surfacing dangerously

Anduin wanted to smite Greymane, hot anger coursed through him at those words, he knew Wrathion could not be trusted since his days on Pandaria, even Wrathion said he was wise not to. Years of suppressed emotions conflicting with his reasoning threatened to tear his heart out, even more so after having Wrathion apologising on what could have very well been his death bed.

“I Know!” the words burst from his mouth and echoed through the chamber, Graymane looked more than taken aback, even Shaw was stunned, all eyes widened at the sudden outburst of the young king who was well known for his calm demeanor and patience. Anduin took a deep breath before continuing, “I know Wrathion has never had a good reputation and has his own reasons for doing things….but I cannot in good conscience throw someone out of the keep when they are injured when he came to help us.”

“Help us?” Graymane echoed, “The Black Prince only helps himself!”

“My brother seeks to protect Azeroth,” Ebonhorn’s deep voice sounded through the room as he made his way in, Graymane growled, but the elder dragon continued, “The information I came here today with was not mine, but Wrathion’s. I have lived far longer than he has but he has amassed a trove of information on the old gods that I could not.”

“His actions cost us our King!” Graymane spat

“Enough!” Anduin yelled, “We are here today to discuss action against N’zoth! Not to dig up the past!”

“Aye, first we gotta make sure Azeroth’s defenses are all working” Magni interjected, stepping between the growling Gilnean King and Ebonhorn, “We have discovered that the Forge of Origination in Uldum is currently inactive, we need some extra support before we head there tae investigate

“I understand, I will send for our champions to meet you in Uldum Magni,” Anduin turned to Shaw who nodded, understanding the silent request and left to carry out what needed to be done, “As for Ebonhorn….and Wrathion, they are here as my guests and are welcomed to stay.”

Graymane looked aghast at what the High King just said, in fact Anduin was shocked at his own words. He of all people welcoming two black dragons as guests in Stormwind, his father would be rolling in his grave.

“Thank you, High King,” Ebonhorn voice was calm but his eyes reflected surprise

“As you wish,” Graymane growled softly

“Lad, before I go I have a favor tae ask,” Magni started

“Anything old friend,”

“I’m gonna be needin’ me hammer,”

“Of course,” Anduin replied, guiding Magni to the adjoining room where Fearbreaker rested, “I was honored to have it bestowed upon me, but I am relieved that you have come back for it.”

The ancestral hammer of the Bronzebeard Clan, rested on the wall of the Stormwind Keep, despite its age, it gleamed as bright as the day it was forged, made of silver and wrapped with gold with runes and gems etched into its surface. Anduin lifted the hammer and carefully handed it to Magni who gripped it with familiar ease and sighed in satisfaction.

“Well then, we’ve got work tae do! I’ll be awaiting yae champions in Uldum,” Magni tuned to look at Anduin making sure he had the young king’s attention before continuing, “Be careful lad, N’zoth could strike anywhere.” With that last warning, the speaker of Azeroth vanished in a flash of light.

Anduin returned to the throne room noticing that Ebonhorn was gone before dismissed everyone else, citing exhaustion and emphasizing that he did not wished to be disturbed for the rest of the day. The day was almost over, the sky was painted with rich hues of red and orange, the faint scent of the sea tickled his senses as Anduin made is way to his own room. He had contemplated stopping by to check on Wrathion but had decided against it until he walked past the guest room and heard the muffled sounds of what had to be a conversation.

_Wrathion’s already awake?_

The king stopped dead infront of the door and before his mind could reel his own movements in, he had forcefully burst through the door. Blue orbs immediately locked onto red ones and the emotions he had managed to push aside earlier came rushing back in an intense wave that almost knocked the breath form his lungs.

Anduin saw the widening of Wrathion’s eyes as his feet propelled him forward, he was acting unconsciously and he wasn’t aware of what he was doing until a sharp intake of breath and the stinging sensation of his hand brought him back. At the back of his mind he heard the door click shut but at the moment he was too focused on the black dragon sitting on the bed, his head tilted to the side with a hand nursing the stinging slap Anduin had just delivered.

“You!…” all that came out of the king was snarl, conflicting emotions made it difficult to decide what he wanted to say first, instead he turned away from the bed and took deep shuddering breaths trying to compose himself and think of what to say.

One part of him want to throttle the weakened dragon for everything he did, for the events of Draenor, for leaving him behind. Whilst another part of him just wanted to break down, all Wrathion did was utter an apology and his walls crumbled. Was he so easily manipulated by this black dragon?

“Anduin….”

“What are you doing here Wrathion?” the question was thrown out sharply, cutting through the black dragon’s own words.

Wrathion remained silent for a moment, contemplating how he should explain everything to the young king without making the situation even worse than it already is. Being in an actual room was already far from the welcome he had imagined, having thought he would wake to the stockade walls or perhaps an arcane prison made for a dragon. The slap was a good reminder that this is real and not another figment of his imagine or the vision he was made to see.

“I needed to see you,” he finally admitted quietly, Anduin scoffed

“It’s been five years Wrathion, why now?” He turned back to the dragon, only to find the other finding more interest in the quilt covering half his body than looking at him.

“N’zoth has been freed-” Wrathion started but Anduin cut him off again

“You had to wait for the possible end of the world before coming back?”

“That’s not-”

“My world crumbled when you left me behind!” Anduin spat, Wrathion jerked as if burnt and his eyes snapped up to meet the king’s, “It fell to ruin when the legion came. When I had to face the world my father left me. Alone!”

Dread churned Wrathion’s insides, this was not going well, Anduin’s eyes were blazing with an array of emotions as he continued to throw sharp words, seeming to go off on a list of ‘Things I blame Wrathion for’

_This is all my fault_

“I made a mistake!” Wrathion growled before wincing at the pain that flared up from side.

Anduin felt like he was plunged into the middle of a frozen lake, his body went rigid at the words, ice clawed at his chest making breathing difficult. Coming back had been a mistake, a spur of the moment. Genn was right, black dragons could not be trusted, they played with you like the void played with mortals.

“I see,” he choked the words out, turning away from the dragon again, wet moisture gathered at his eyes, no he would not cry in front of Wrathion, he refused, “Glad we both agree on something then.”

Wrathion was confused at the sudden change in demeanor, he replayed what he said in his head and realised that Anduin took it the wrong way.

_He believes that my mistake was coming back here._

“Anduin! Wait!” But the king was already moving stiffly towards the door

Wrathion ripped the covers off himself and shot from the bed ignoring the stabbing pain and the sensation of something ripping. In a burst of desperation, the Black Prince threw himself across the room, a hand slamming the barely opened door close once more, boxing Anduin in against the door.

“Leaving you was my mistake!” Wrathion forced out the words through gritted teeth

The smite that was on the tip of Anduin’s fingers died out as he registered those words, he turned slowly to face the dragon behind him. Wrathion’s face was twisted in pain, one eye closed tight as he braced his weight on his arm above Anduin’s head whilst the other clutched his side.

“W-what?”

“Leaving you all those years ago was my mistake,” the dragon repeated, drawing a shuddering breath, “I thought leaving you behind would protect you. I’m a Black Dragon, making me more susceptible to the old gods influence, I was a whelp, vulnerable. I-I couldn’t risk endangering you too.”

Anduin opened his mouth but no words came forth, his own heartbeat loud in his ears as he processed what the dragon said. Wordlessly he lifted his hand to Wrathion’s cheek, gently caressing the hot skin were his hand had landed with more force than necessary earlier. The dragon drew another shaking breath before opening his eye, fixating both red orbs on the human king before leaning in to press his forehead against the other, sending a pleasant shiver up his spine.

“I’m sorry for leaving you, for the pain I’ve caused you,”

“Why did you wait so long before coming back?”

“I-I will tell you everything,” Wrathion sighed, before pulling away, “But first could you find Eby- I mean Ebonhorn please?”

Anduin frowned, it wasn’t until Wrathion took another staggering step backwards that he saw it. Even in the fast fading natural light, he could see blood was seeping through the tunic that clung to the dragon’s form and dripping over the slender fingers that were pressed to his side. Wrathion had tore open his wound in his rush to get to Anduin.

“Wrathion!” Anduin rushed to support the dragon as he swayed on his feet disregarding the fact that blood was soaking into the front of his own clothing, slowly he guided the other towards the bed whilst channeling the light from his hands towards the wound in an attempt to at least stop the bleeding as he did before. Only he made sure Wrathion was on the bed, did he rush out to look for the elder dragon, thankfully the High King did not have to go far, before running into Ebonhorn.

“Whelp,” Ebonhorn huffed, shaking his head when Anduin informed him that Wrathion most likely reopened his wounds.

When Anduin tried to follow after Ebonhorn into the room he was stopped gently. The black dragon had told him to turn in for the night in a way that left no room for protests, knowing very well that the priest had exerted a great amount of energy healing Wrathion.

“Rest will do both of you some good,” Ebonhorn had said

The day’s events had greatly exhausted Anduin, he had waited five years for answers, he could survive one more night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help?


	4. Chapter 4

Anduin wakes to the soothing scents of black tea and freshly baked bread, for a moment he thought he was back in Pandaria, in the tavern in the mists before he takes in the familiar surroundings of his canopy bed in Stormwind. Slowly, the young king sits upright on the soft bed, confused to why there would be such smells in his room, the soft clinking of porcelain coming from the adjourning sitting room made him realise that he was not alone. He has never requested for food to be brought to him before, always opting to dine with the either Genn or other leaders of the Alliance in the main hall.

Who could it be? Anduin could not brush of the twinge of paranoia born from kidnapping and assassination attempts over the years, what kind of perpetrator brought tea to the person they were going to kill or kidnap?

Cautiously, he inched towards the opening of his bedroom and poked his head around the corner to see who it was. Anduin choked on the breath he was holding as he saw Wrathion seated on one of the long couches in the sitting room, drawing the attention of the dragon to him.

For just a brief moment, the black dragon looked as startled as he was before it flashed into a smirk, an expression that Anduin has seen countless times whilst in Pandaria, except this time Wrathion has matured and it made the dragon look devilishly handsome. The simple shirt that Wrathion wore the previous night was replaced with a collared dark-gray long sleeve shirt with gold trims on the cuffs, dark leather pants and boots.

He was staring. Anduin knew he was staring, heat was crawling up his neck and spreading to the tips of his ears and the expression Wrathion wore only grew wider as the silence grew longer. When Anduin thought found the courage to voice a question, it came out embarrassingly as a sputter.

“W-What are you doing here?!” at least he managed to make it sound accusing

“I promised you answers,” Wrathion shrugged like it was normal to make oneself at home in another person’s room while they slept, “I brought breakfast, but it might be lunch at this rate”

“W-What?”

“It’s almost lunchtime dear King, you slept away most of the morning,” Anduin’s horror filled face prompted him to continue hastily, “Don’t worry, your day has been cleared of any meetings and such unless they are urgent and by urgent I mean only if Magni or one of your champions return.”

“Y-You can’t just clear my day like that! There are things that need to be done!” Anduin protested instinctively

“I didn’t,” Wrathion blinked, “Your spymaster did, I’m merely the messenger.”

The black dragon watched in amusement as Anduin’s eyes grew even wider at his words. 

“You’re lying,” Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion 

“You can ask him yourself if you like,” Wrathion huffed, “But before you do, join me for breakfast?”

Anduin’s expression soften into a frown instead as he took in the dragon’s words, before sighing and disappearing out of sight back into his room again, presumably to freshen and change his clothes. Wrathion allowed himself to relax slightly before reaching for his teacup as he recounted the interesting morning he had with the resident spymaster.

* * *

The sky was just starting to lighten when Wrathion sensed someone slip into the room, he might be a guest in Stormwind but he was not naive enough to think there would not be assassins still after his life. The intruder concealed their presence well, a professional hiding in the shadows, but he was a dragon, always on guard even as he slept. The black dragon was already sitting upright as the presence drew ever closer to the bed, the slight pull at his side reminded him of his injury though mostly healed thanks to Ebonhorn’s treatment, he was not going to risk landing himself another lengthy lecture from the elder. 

“I’m sure I haven’t done anything to warrant a personal visit from you Master Shaw,”

“Yet,” Came the gruff reply of the Alliance Spymaster as he stepped out of the shadows of the room into the faint light filtering through the window

“Yet here you are,” Wrathion’s voice came out smooth and did not betray his wariness as he eyed the human carefully

“You made quite the entrance yesterday, what is your purpose of coming here?” Wrathion flinched, he did not want to be reminded of his less graceful moments

“I came to help-” Wrathion did not get much out before he was cut off

“Don’t try to lie to me dragon,” green orbs pinned Wrathion with a hard glare, “That maybe one of your reasons but that is not the reason you’re actually here.”

Wrathion flattered for a moment and inwardly cursed the spymaster, the human was too good at his job sometimes.

“I came to see Anduin,” the green gaze narrowed further

“If you hurt him, Stormwind has room for another trophy from a black dragon,”

“I would never-,” Wrathion immediately started to protest

“I didn’t mean physically,” Shaw growled, effective silencing the dragon and earning a perplexed look in return, “Do you know what happened to him when you left five years ago?”

Wrathion remained silent, he did not know, he had his Blacktalons keep an eye on the then prince, only knowing he was alive, nothing else, he had refused to think of it, immersing himself into his work and research.

“No,” he admitted finally

Mathias Shaw was not expecting the proud prince to admit to it, his hands had unconsciously curled into the blanket, the cocky expression Wrathion wore had vanished and his expression had softened to a pondering one. For a moment he looked almost human, aside from the glowing red of the eyes.

“I suppose I can’t bribe you into divulging what happened can I?

“If you tell me what your intentions are, I _may_ consider,” Surprised found Wrathion as his eyes snapped back to meet Shaw’s own, the spymaster said nothing else but crossed his hands across his chest. The black dragon shifted to get out of the bed, before wandering past Shaw towards the windows, it was uncomfortable to be constantly pinned by the spy’s hard gaze.

“I just want to make things right,” 

“Was that what the apology yesterday was for? Before you fainted?” 

Wrathion made an indignant sound in his throat, this human was insufferable at how blunt he was sometimes. Wasn’t a spy supposed to be subtle? Wrathion did not reply but Shaw already knew the answer to his own question.

“He locked himself in his room for weeks, refusing to talk to anyone even to his father,” Shaw started, the red orbs that had turned back to him widened, “King Varian had tried to send various figures including me to coax him out, the word here is tried.”

“D-Did Anduin say anything?” Wrathion asked tentatively 

“No, but he wore the same expression as King Varian when the queen passed,”

Guilt gnawed at Wrathion, the incessant throb of his heart at the words reminding him of what he should have done years ago. He barely felt the pain of his fangs digging into his lip as he clenched his jaw tight. He loved Anduin, what he did had destroyed whatever they had built in Pandaria, he could only hope the King would be willing to forgive him after all that he had done, if Anduin refused his affections, at least he hoped he would be able to stay as a friend.

Mathias Shaw studied the Black Prince with a critical eye as the dragon seem to be lost in his own internal turmoil for the moment before sighing in defeat, it was his job to protect the King but against his own better judgment he decided to take the gamble of allowing the dragon this one opportunity.

“Ebonhorn tells me you promised the King answers,” 

“W-What? Yes, I did,” Wrathion was jerked out of his thoughts before replying

“You have one chance,” Shaw growled

“What do you mean-”

“One chance, in your words make things right,” Wrathion was stumped, “I still don’t trust you but if you repeat what you did in Pandaria again, I have a skinning knife specifically made for dragons.”

Wrathion was not easily intimidated, especially not by a human, but he could sense the threat dripping from the words and radiating from the spymaster. He bit back the remark about him being one of the last uncorrupted black dragons in existence and about needing him to defeat N’zoth, but now was not the time to let his pride get the better of him.

“I took the liberty of clearing the King’s schedule for the day after your brother informed me that he likely drained himself healing you and should rest,” Shaw shook his head and sighed, before making his way to the door, “The Tushui Pandaren behind the Dwarven district sells lotus root paste buns if you’re wondering by any chance.”

Pandaren buns? What was Shaw going on-

Wrathion’s thoughts swam in confusion but stopped as he remembered something, those were Anduin’s favourite food in Pandaria, he stared wordlessly at Shaw’s retreating figure unable to come up with an answer.

“Remember whelp, one chance,” before the door closed silently behind the rogue as he slipped out

* * *

“Admiring yourself in the teacup? We have mirrors for that you know,” A voice brought Wrathion back to the present, where he realised he was staring into the cooling liquid of his cup without actually drinking it for while, titans knows how long the King had been standing there by the opening to his bedroom.

Anduin had changed out of his night clothes but instead of the royal regalia Wrathion was familiar with, or the plate armor he usually had, the human was dressed in plain white shirt and blue coat that matched his eyes, navy pants and leather boots. The dragon cleared his throat and set the cup back onto the table as the King walked towards him and sat himself on the seat across the table.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well, it’s just that I’ve never seen you in anything aside from your usual attire,” Wrathion shrugged, inwardly reminding himself not to stare 

“You would have if you didn’t leave,” Anduin shot back

The black dragon flinched and help his hand up in what he hoped was a placating gesture before reaching for a bamboo basket on the table and offering to Anduin. The human looked taken back for a moment before realising what was inside the basket, slowly he reached out and took one of the sesame coated buns.

“How did you manage to get this?”

“I may have _convinced_ some of the Tushui Pandaren to part with their breakfast,” Anduin had just bitten into the buns before he choked prompting Wrathion to pick up a cup of tea and handing it over, “I was joking! I bought them, the Pandaren were selling them”

Anduin glared at the dragon as he downed the tea to was down what had lodged itself in his throat, with his airway clear he took another bite of the Pandaren bun, relishing the sweet taste of the lotus root paste. In the moment, he felt transported back to the tavern in the mists, where such moments were almost a daily affair, until the day it abruptly ended.

“Anduin,” The King turned his attention to the dragon across him, “I know I’ve apologised before, but I wish to apologise again for my past...actions.”

“The Black Prince apologising more than once, the world must truly be ending,” Anduin scoffed

“If the world really is ending, I would prefer to have it end with me having no regrets,” Wrathion growled

Anduin narrowed his eyes, he felt the bitterness from the past bubbling up in his throat, threatening to spew something poisonous at the dragon, but Wrathion had apologised, he meant it and had promised answers to his questions. He took a deep breath and stayed silent, waiting for Wrathion to continue.

“I mentioned last night, but I wanted to protect you when I left, but also I….I was uncertain of what else to do,” Wrathion had tensed up as he started to talk about himself in front of the young king, revealing things he has never told anyone

“So leaving was putting me out of sight out of mind then,” Anduin tried to keep his voice steady but he could not control the slight wavier

“In a sense yes,” Wrathion admitted, “I had my Blacktalons keep and eye on you but I had them only inform me if you lived or not, I…..I refused to know more, I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what Wrathion?”

“As an uncorrupted black dragon, I had given myself the duty of undoing the work of my kin and upholding the oath we took to protect Azeroth. When I met you on Pandaria, I was so drawn to you that….well I forgot my work, left my research behind to spend time in the tavern with you,” Wrathion shift his gaze to look at his palms instead, unwilling to look Anduin in the eye as he continued, “I was afraid I would forget my duty, I swore that I wouldn’t rest until the smoldering corpse of the last old god laid at my feet.”

“What changed?” Anduin’s heart was heavy with guilt, he never considered the pressure Wrathion has been since he hatched, Deathwing may be gone, but the atrocities he committed were blamed on his son, whom he had tried to destroy before he was even hatched. He had blamed Wrathion for the deaths of many families, but Wrathion has never felt what it means to have a family, never had proper allies he could trust.

“Several days ago, I received word from agents about the incident at the Azshara’s Eternal Palace and also a report regarding a strange obelisk emitting void energy near Nefarian’s Lair and went to investigate,”

“Did you destroy it?” blue eyes were wide and searching

“No, I touched it,”

“You touched it,” Anduin echoed deadpanned before yelling, “Wrathion! It was emitting void energy and you touched it?! You of all people should know better than to do that!”

“I know! It-It was a spur of the moment, against my better judgment,” Wrathion protested

“Your better judgment has never been good at all and your less than better judgment is horrible!” Anduin huffed, “So what happened?”

“In truth I never thought of how to describe it honestly, I believed I was pulled into a vision of sorts, one of N’zoth’s visions of his ideal world,” Anduin went pale at the mention of the Old God

“What did you see?” Anduin dreaded to find out but he couldn’t stop himself from asking

“Stormwind and…..you,” the word came out soft and reluctant form Wrathion, he was reluctant to relive those memories but he had to, “Everything seemed so real, I could even smell the sea. It was my nightmare made real, everything I’ve done was for this world and for you, seeing it all fall to the void was...painful.”

“I- I was there?” 

“You were,” Wrathion gave a pained smiled, “But you were tainted with the void, everything was tainted. It wasn’t just a simple vision, it was like I was physically there, you told me that you accepted N’zoth’s _gift_ with the promise that I would return to your side. Those that were uncorrupted were captured and they blamed me for your corruption and one of them killed you. You were the one person I cared for other than Azeroth herself, seeing you dead….I’ve never felt anything like it before, it felt like I died as well. My agents managed to bring me back to reality but after seeing _that_ I could not stay away anymore.”

“You believe I would fall to the whispers of the void?” Anduin asked quietly

“No my dear king, but I am not willing to take any chances, not anymore,” Wrathion took a deep breath, bracing himself to ask one final question, “Will you give me another chance Anduin? To stay by your side”

The High King did not move nor did he reply the black dragon, he sat there as the information churned in his mind, his hand clenched into fists. Wrathion looked on quietly before internally deciding that he’ll be lucky if the King forgives him, he should not push his luck.  Even though he was expecting rejection he still harbored hope, who knew hope could be so cruel on the heart.

Before either of them could say anything, a strong knock on the door broke through the tense atmosphere in the room. The door then swung open revealing the Alliance spymaster and Ebonhorn wearing a grim expression. 

“Champions have sent word of progress in Uldum,” Both Anduin and Wrathion leapt to their feet and looked expectantly at the spymaster, “The Forge of Origination was taken over by the Amathet but joint forces managed to push them back and reclaim the forge.”

“The forge has been secured then?” relieve found the High King at the good news

“Yes, but the Forge seem to require a power source, which then brought the champions and Speaker Magni to Pandaria in search of the Engine of Nalak’sha. They have made contact and formed allies with a Mogu clan that serves the High Keeper Ra-den,”

“Allies with a mogu clan, who would have thought the day would come,” Wrathion chuckled, earning him a glare from Shaw

“They were trying to reactivate Forge of Origination but there seems to be an anomaly which is interfering with the efforts to do so,”

“What kind of anomaly is it?” Wrathion asked

“The champions have reported an obelisk, much like the one you encountered,” Ebonhorn replied, “They have also reported to have a seen a vision of sorts but was pulled out of it by M.O.T.H.E.R before they were lost in there.”

Wrathion growled,  it came out deep and reverberating, causing the windows to  rattle slightly. The dragon did  not  even know what he had done until he realised that everyone in the room was staring at him,  the King’s blue orbs were wide with a mixture of fear and awe. 

“I’m terrible sorry about that,” Wrathion took a deep breath sighed, bringing his hand to rest at the bridge of his nose, “Have the champions managed to deal with obelisk yet?”

“Unfortunately no, they had sent the report in hopes that perhaps you had an idea,” Shaw answered

Wrathion turned his back to look out the window as he racked his mind for ideas, plans, possibilities that could help counter this new obstacle. Over the years he had developed some resistance to the void but as the incident  two days ago had proven, he was not immune to its influence,

_ Not me but perhaps the champions of Azeroth herself would prove to have a stronger resistance and if we could combine that what power I have….perhaps….. _

“There is something that could be done to aid the champions,” Wrathion started, turning back to look at the other occupants for the room, “But it will require something that belongs to the Black Dragonflight, something I left behind in Nefarian’s Lair.”

“You’re going back there?” Anduin had blurted out the question, his face had flushed in embarrassment when he realised

“I had Nefarian’s Lair sealed, therefore I would need to go back to unseal it, in order to retrieve what I need,” Wrathion looked at Anduin curiously but mentioned nothing, “Master Shaw if you would be so kind as to inform the champions to meet me there, will make preparations to depart immediately.”

“You’re leaving today?” Anduin stared at Wrathion liked he grew a second head

“Best to deal with it as soon as possible,” Wrathion replied, forcing himself to walk past the King towards the door, “N’zoth waits for no one.”

E bonhorn and Shaw gave each other a confused look before the elder dragon followed after Wrathion to the neighboring guest room. The spymaster closed the door behind him before turning back to the young King who had sat back down quietly, his expression confused and lost.

“Do you think I should trust Wrathion again?”

Surprise found Shaw as Anduin posed the question to him, he was the only person the King had confided into about his feelings about the Black Prince after the events on Pandaria. Well Shaw had managed to coax it out of the then Prince using a few SI:7 tricks but he kept his word, revealing nothing to anyone.

“As your advisor I would warn against trusting him at all,”

“Then as a friend?” Anduin asked tentatively

“I would ask you to be cautious, I had a few words with earlier and he appeared to be set on making things right,” Shaw replied 

“Did the few words include threats about a skinning knife you told me about?” Anduin’s lips twitched into a small smile 

“Naturally,” the answer made Anduin chuckle lightly

“I miss him, but after everything that has happened I don’t know if its the right thing to do to let him back in,” Anduin admitted

“King Greymane would likely have me relieved of my position if he ever heard me saying this, but simply do what you wish to do, the legion, the war has taken much from you as much as they have taken from the Alliance itself. I believe you deserve some form of happiness, wherever you may find it,”

“Thank you Master Shaw, I’ll make sure Genn never hears of it,” Anduin laughs this time, his heart feeling lighter than before

“Perhaps you should find that whelp before he takes off, he reminded me of a pup who was refused his favourite toy earlier,” 

“I’m afraid Wrathion has already left High King,” Ebonhorn’s deep voice sounded from the door

“By the light, is being silent a black dragon trait? Shaw growled as he whirled around in surprise

“Wrathion left already?!” Anduin exclaimed

“I’m afraid so, he also made it clear that I was to stay behind and make sure nothing happens here,”

Somehow, Anduin felt like Ebonhorn was specifically talking about him and not Stormwind. 

“Did he say when he’ll be back?” 

“No, but I made sure he promised to return to deliver his report on the situation _personally_ ,” The elder dragon could not help but chuckle as he saw the High King visible relax back into his sit, the lion cub still harbored affections for his idiot younger brother. Wrathion was so sure of himself when he told Ebonhorn that Anduin not going to return his affections and now he just hopped to be forgiven for his past mistakes.

_ I hope you return soon and see how wrong you are _

“High King, might I suggest being firm with Wrathion when he returns?”

“I’m sorry?”

“My foolish brother believes that your affections are beyond his reach any more, he is trying to be indifferent, he has made many mistakes but loving you was not one of them,” Anduin visibly blanches, “ _If_ he does not return, be assured I will drag him back here by the scruff of his neck myself.”

Anduin felt his cheeks grow hot as it spread to the tips of his ears, the whole situation felt like Shaw and Ebonhorn were matchmaking them. Despite himself, he could not get an image out of his head and started chuckling to himself, Wrathion looking extremely disgruntled in his whelp form hanging by the scruff of his neck from the jaws of a huge black dragon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long, been distracted by life and wow, also spend hours thinking about how to write this

It was a trap, of course it was a trap, nothing is ever simple when it came to Wrathion’s life, who would have thought the old god had the same idea as the Black Prince. The power that could be used against N’zoth could also help N’zoth, cultists had already made themselves at home in Nefarian’s Lair by the time Wrathion had gotten there with the champions in tow, his Blacktalons left dead at the entrance.

After the incident with the obelisk, he knew he should not underestimate the hold the old god still had on the black dragon flight, but the power of the old god had grown, fueling the wretched cultists in return. He could do nothing as their leader effortlessly had him bound in a force of void, it took Wrathion every ounce of will he possessed to hold against Xanesh as she attempted to break him, whispers and void tendrils seeping into his mind, curling and whispering sweet promises.

Only when the champions took out the last cultist fueling the ritual was there a single moment of clarity that Wrathion had been waiting for, in a burst of fire and ash he blew through the bindings and emerged in his dragon form, roaring furiously before bathing the area in flame. With her cultists dead and plans disrupted, the Dark Inquisitor had spat curses at the black dragon before vanishing through a void portal.

Wrathion had the champions retrieve black dragon scales from the remains of Onyxia and Nefarian, his fallen kin, who had torn Azeroth asunder before now their scales at least would aid the champions to save Azeroth. With the scales in hand, Wrathion began to weave his magic, his resolve into it, reinforcing it with resistance to the whispers and strengthening it, transforming it into a cloak that the champions could use. With final instructions to look out for pages and books that could prove useful to empower the cloak, Wrathion sent the champions back to Magni’s encampment using the drakes within the lair that could still fly.

Wrathion stood outside Nefarian’s lair, sweeping his red gaze over the desolate landscape before him, willing himself to take deep breaths, the mental assault of the cultists and the funneling of his magic into the cloak had left him exhausted. He contemplated his chances of sneaking into Stormwind and his room whilst avoiding Anduin, his chances would have been higher if he had not grown from a whelp to an adolescent dragon.

Wrathion was thankful it was a cloudy night as Stormwind City peaked through the thick clouds beneath him. Spotting an empty spot on the keep’s ramparts, he swooped down silently, landing on two feet with a flurry of ash. His feet briskly took him towards the living quarters he was assigned to, walking confidently through the keep yet being highly aware of any sounds of voices that could possibly be the young king

“If you’re looking for the High King, I’m afraid he has already retired for the night,” 

Wrathion yelped a deep voice from behind broke through his thoughts, spinning around he found Ebonhorn looking at him looking amused.

“I am not looking for him,” Wrathion hissed

“You must be trying to avoid him then,”

“I-I am not!” the Black Prince spluttered, heat filling his cheeks

“Really? You walked right past me and didn’t see me, I’ve been walking behind you for a while now,” Ebonhorn huffed

“I’m just exhausted!” Wrathion growled, he flattered slightly when Mathias Shaw took a step out from behind the elder, “Alright! I’m also trying to avoid him until tomorrow, when I actually have the strength to give a report.”

“Give me the short version of the report,” Wrathion was slightly taken back, he was half expecting Shaw to show him the sharp end of the dagger instead

“Nefarian’s lair was swimming in cultists when we arrived but we cleaned them up nicely and got what the champions needed, sent them off to Magni, everything went fine,” The spymaster’s eyes grew wide at the mention of cultists but the expression became a thoughtful one at the end, he opened his mouth to ask a question only to be cut off by Wrathion, “Short version Master Shaw, those are the important bits.”

Wrathion quickly turned on his heel and walked down the hallway towards his room, eager for a bath and a bed, ignoring the voices behind him.

“Maybe we should have told him,” Ebonhorn rumbled

“I wouldn’t,” Shaw replied, hiding a small smirk

* * *

Wrathion’s room was dark as expected, the curtains were drawn open but there was barely any moonlight filtering through the canopy of clouds, he thought of just going straight for the bed but deciding he could use a bath first he went for the bathroom.

He lingered in bath much longer than he expected, allowing the hot water to soaking into his bones, washing away some of the exhaustion of the day, for a moment he recalled the hot springs that he had shared with Anduin in Pandaria. A sharp screeching sound shook him out of his recollection as he realised that sharp nails had dug long marks into the edge of the pristine white tub. Deciding that he was done, Wrathion pulled himself out and drained the water, putting on a simple shirt and pants, forgoing his shoes he padded back into the main room and towards the bed. Falling face first into the soft linens, the dragon groaned and instinctively sought to burrow himself deeper into the bed, curling up he was out cold in seconds.

Anduin let out the breath he was holding slowly, he had let himself into the room earlier and fell asleep on the bed, that was until the sound of the door closing startled him awake. He was not expecting Wrathion to be back so soon, the rational part of him was yelling at him to get out of the room before Wrathion came out of the bath but another part just wanted to stay and wait for dragon to come out. Time flies when you’re arguing with yourself, footsteps come straight for the bed told Anduin he was out of time to even get out of the bed. He froze as a dark shadow came closer, the red orbs that glowed through the darkness were dull and half lidded, they did not even seem to see Anduin, who was sitting very still on the bed. Wrathion just collapsed onto the bed, his body curling towards the middle of the bed before his breathing evened out signaling he had fallen asleep.

Moonlight chose that moment to peek through the clouds, bathing the room in just enough moonlight for Anduin’s human eyes to see Wrathion’s form. Blue orbs widened as they took in the dark horns that emerged from the wavy hair, a gold ring encircled one of them, similar to the horns Wrathion’s dragon form had. 

_Is this what he was hiding under that ridiculous turban back in Pandaria?_

The dragon’s breathing was steady but his brows were furrowed in a way that reminded Anduin of Greymane, when his advisor would growl of an impending headache, his body seemed tensed and coiled like serpent’s waiting for someone to strike. 

Anduin reached for the blankets and pulled them over Wrathion before bringing his hand to brush against the other’s cheek, whilst channeling a small spell to hopeful help him relax. The effect was instantaneous, the dragon visibly relaxed under Anduin’s palm a soft sigh coming from his lips. He knew he should pull away, but the heat radiating from the skin and Wrathion’s body was making it too comfortable to move, the cold walk back to his own room seemed less than appealing at the moment.

The heat made Anduin drowsy, he shifted himself under the blankets, his mind unconsciously registering that tomorrow would be awkward but he could not bring himself to care, he has been alone for too long, if Wrathion was going to come back to him, he was not going to let the dragon go so easily anymore.

* * *

Wrathion was roused by the sheer sense of contentment he hasn’t felt in a long time, there was a soft pressure at the base of one of his horns that slowly made its way down to the other. He breathed a soft sigh, the scent of pine and mint washed over him, his sleep addled mind relishing in the calming effect of the scent. If dragons could purr, Wrathion would be a purring but instead a soft content rumble came from his chest, pushing his head against a warm pillow. At least he assumed it was a pillow, until the said pillow started trembling and the pressure on his horns vanished.

A soft but amused chuckle doused the annoyed growl that was building in Wrathion’s throat and he froze. The content sleepy haze quickly disappearing as he became more aware of his surroundings, slowly he opened his eyes only to realise that he had his head pressed into another warm body. Reacting on pure instinct, he surged into an upright position ignoring the yelp that came from the other person, turned around and pinned the other to the bed with a growl.

“Wrathion!”

Red orbs widened as he took in Anduin’s equally wide blue eyes, tousled gold locks fanned out against the pillow, wrists by the side of his head unmovable in the dragon’s iron grip.

“Anduin?” Wrathion blinked as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing, was this a dream? Another vision? He pulled back quickly, allowing the King to pushing himself upright, his heart raced at the possibility of having been dragged back into another one of N’zoth’s visions, but his mind was clear and light, there was no incessant whispers or the shadows of something lurking in the corners of the room. Sunlight streamed in from the window and the sky was a clear blue, at the thought of blue brought him back to the matter of the King of Stormwind sitting on the bed next to him still half under the covers.

It was like another one of his dreams, perhaps soon he would wake to find himself in a dark room, bed empty and alone, it frustrated him to no ends when he had awoken during his travels, blood running hotter through his body even by the standards of a black dragon. As the silence grew, Wrathion was starting to believe that it might not be a dream after all, it made his chest ache.

“Are you alright Wrathion?” Anduin was looking at him curiously whilst rubbing his wrists gently

“I’m fine,” Wrathion returned the curious gaze, “But what are _you_ doing here? I was quite certain I did not wander into the wrong room last night.”

Anduin spluttered as he tried to come up with an answer, his usually pale complexion flushing with color that darkened with each passing second, it was endearing to watch, the dragon jolted and internal shook himself of the thoughts.

“No need to explain dear King,” Wrathion shifted to get off the bed hurriedly

“Wrathion-,”

“Don’t worry Anduin, I won’t speak a word about this to anyone,” Wrathion continued refusing to look at the human behind him

“What? That’s-”

“It’s alright, I-” Wrathion’s words were cut off with a yelp as he was forcefully pushed from the bed and onto the floor as he was pushing himself off the bed. 

“Be quiet for a moment would you?” Anduin growled from the top of the bed, blue eyes blazing down at the frozen bedraggled dragon on the floor. The blonde huffed and took a deep breath before clambering down the bed and onto the plush carpet that Wrathion had landed on, clenching the soft fuzzy material behind his fingers.

“That was highly unnecessary,” Wrathion sighed, looking miffed 

“You wouldn’t let me talk,” Anduin shot back

“You had no words for me if the way you were spluttering was anything to go by,” the snark reply earned him a glare from the King, but despite it, Wrathion could not feel any actual heat behind the expression.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be back so soon and not in the middle of the night,” the heat that had left Anduin’s cheeks returned, “I fell asleep on the bed and only woke when you returned.”

“But why were you in my bed specifically, the one in your royal chambers not comfy enough?” Wrathion could not help but tease the young King, such simple conversations reminded him of the times on Pandaria

“I was waiting for you, things I wanted to say....” Anduin’s voice grew smaller before it trailed off at the end, looking at Wrathion who had an expression of what could only be described as growing disbelief, eyes wide and lips slightly parted

“And of the places you could have waited, you chose my bed?” Wrathion’s voice came out somewhat strained, suddenly the room felt too small, Anduin’s actions haven’t made sense and what he said made even less sense, especially if the King did not appreciate his pressence.

Anduin was starting to tremble with fustration, for a dragon who was incredibly intelligent and know more about the world than Anduin despite being younger in years, Wrathion was incredibly blind or dense or just in denial he did not know. He fought a similar urge to throttle the dragon as he wanted to on the day Wrathion crashed in to the keep but for a different reason this time. He wasn’t good with words, he did not know the words to use, he was hoping the other would pick up on it, he would even endure any teasing words.

“Anduin? Are you-”

Anduin growled and grabbed a fistful of Wrathion’s shirt and yanked the other forward, cutting the other off with a kiss. It was like something was unleashed in Wrathion, red orbs grew impossibly wide and an inhuman rumble came from the dragon’s chest before Anduin was pushed back until his head hit the edge of the bed with a returned kiss that was hard and ferocious. Claw tipped fingers wove their way into in golden locks sending shocks racing down Anduin’s spine.

The King answered the action with a gasp of surprised which Wrathion took full advantage of the parted lips to taste the inside of the human’s mouth, swiping with a forked tongue to intertwine with its counterpart. Wrathion tasted of smoke, ash but also like some rare spice, Anduin let go of the shirt in favor of hooping his arms around the other’s neck to pull him closer whilst twisting his head to get a better angle.

The slick feel and taste of Anduin made Wrathion’s mind spin, his heart racing with a burning ache threatening to consume him, reluctantly he pulled back to see Anduin’s half lidded gaze and soft panting.

“I’m really hoping this isn’t a dream,” Wrathion chuckled softly, only to receive a painful pinch on his cheek making him yelp before it was soothed by gentle fingers and flash of light, pressing his forehead onto Anduin’s and taking a deep breath, drawing the soothing and familiar scents, “I thought I lost my chance.”

“You won’t get another chance, if you leave I’m going to hunt you down myself,”

“Now, I don’t want to bring down the fury of the light on myself,” Wrathion replied, eyes dancing with mirth 

“No you wouldn’t want to do that,” Anduin agreed with a small smile, “You also wouldn’t want Shaw to turn you into his next armor set would you?”

“I’m too important to be turned into such a thing!” Wrathion scoffed

“Keep telling yourself-mph” 

Wrathion effectively silenced Anduin with another kiss, tongues slipping into another tango, but this time everything was slower, gentler, his hands roamed the expanse of the King’s back with slow, affectionate caresses. Anduin’s breath hitched before melting into a moan as the hands slipped under his shirt and lightly skimmed over his bare skin the touches left fire trailing wherever they went, gentle scrapes from the claws sent shocks of pleasure skittering up his spine. 

Anduin was young but he was not naive, he was inexperienced but it did not mean he never experimented. Every slide of the of their tongues against each other sent his stomach hurling towards a familiar abyss, but this time he was not alone, it was not a dream, he could see, feel even taste Wrathion, the thought dragged a sound from his throat that he has never heard before. Anduin pulled back to breathe only to find Wrathion staring at him with a kind of wonder, his tongue sweeping over the knowing smirk that Wrathion loved to wear.

“My my, you certainly can make some delicious sounds,” the dragon all but purred, the young king’s face burned with heat as he avoided Wrathion’s gaze, his ears were probably on fire as well

Anduin yelped as Wrathion pulled back only to pull him into his lap with his back against the dragon’s chest, heat and sheer embarrassment coursed through his veins, words that were on his tongue died and all that came out was a whimper as Wrathion started nipping at his neck near the collar of his dress shirt, clever fingers moved to toy with the buttons at the front and when Anduin made no protest at the action, they were swiftly unbuttoned and the material allowed to fall open,  sliding off his shoulders to bunch around his elbows leaving his torso bare.

The air felt cool against his heated skin, fingers spreading across his skin caressing gently as they had before, trailing upwards until they brushed  against his nipples, Anduin gasped and writhed in Wrathion’s lap,  fingers that were exploring have become purposeful seemingly wanting to draw as much embarrassing sounds as they could from the young king.

“Wrathion!” Anduin choked out the dragon’s name, his head thrown back against the other’s shoulder unconsciously exposing more of his neck for sharp teeth to mark and taste. With much effort, Anduin managed to free his arms from the dress shirt, before his hands found themselves buried in thick silky hair desperate for something to cling onto to ground himself, fingers brushed the ridges of Wrathion’s horns causing a resounding hiss against his skin.

Anduin twisted in Wrathion’s lap his back arching towards the other’s touch as it trailed lower down to his stomach, his was getting a bit light-headed, but he wasn’t sure if it was the continuous bolts of pleasure running down his spine or the heat his face was feeling that was causing it, perhaps a combination of both. It didn’t help that Anduin could feel an unmistakable hardness against the base of his spine and he was sure Wrathion could see the evidence of his arousal if the soft wanton noises coming unbidden from his throat weren’t enough proof.

“Anduin, if you don’t want it tell me to stop” Wrathion’s voice was deep and rumbling, like a volcano teetering on the edge of an eruption, a reminder to Anduin that the body pressed intimately behind him was not a human, he should be afraid, the history between his family and black dragons has never been a good one, but knowing it was Wrathion, _his_ black dragon, the fear was replaced with what should be an unhealthy lust, it coursed through his veins, lighting up his senses, Anduin was sure if Wrathion continued to rumble in that kind of voice, he might not last.

“Wrathion….” Anduin’s voice came out close to a whine, Wrathion’s soft touches were maddening, it wasn’t enough, he needed, no he wanted more, he wasn’t sure he could voice it without his face combusting, “S-Stop and I-I’ll smite you.”

“Tell me, Anduin,” Wrathion growled, “Tell me what you want”

Anduin whimpered, Wrathion’s fingers stopped right before the waistband of his pants, gently caressing  the soft skin of his belly, teasing.

“Touch me!” Anduin wasn’t capable of uttering more than two words at a time, the slick appendage on his ear, sharp nips every now and then had scattered his thoughts like ashes in the wind

“I’m already doing that dear king,” the reply came and Anduin could almost hear the smirk in those words, the blonde made a noise akin to a snarl borne of desperation, he grabbed Wrathion’s hand with every intention to pull it down towards the aching hardness still trapped in his pants.

Anduin cried out in shock at the sudden sensation of burning fingers around his pulsing cock, blinking away the haze of pleasure that clouded his eyes, he realised that Wrathion’s other hand had sneaked down and freed him from the confines of his pants. He fought desperately against the waves of pleasure that threatened to sent him hurling into the abyss, the dragon smeared the clear liquid that had gathered at the tip of his cock down to the base and back up in pumping motion that wrenched moaning sobs and from Anduin’s throat, his hips jerking into the touch instinctively.

“Come for me Anduin,” 

Anduin’s world went white as Wrathion twisted his thumb against the slit causing the king to arch his back and release a choked cry as he came.  All the tension left his body in an instant, causing him to slump against the dragon as he tried to recover what strength he could, he didn’t know an intimate encounter could be so intense, it never drained him this much when he was alone.

“I take it that it was good?” Wrathion chuckled 

“D-Don’t look so smug you bastard,” Anduin panted, sending the dragon a weak glare only to earn a smirk in return, “Wrathion did you..um..”

“Don’t concern yourself with me dear king, I’ll be fine but we shouldn’t make our guests wait too long,” Wrathion voiced, carefully shifting a still unmovable Anduin into a bridal style carry before moving towards the bathroom

“Guests?” Blue eyes went wide and the voice came out a squeak

“Your favourite spymaster and my brother are waiting outside, I’m assuming for you and my report,”

A nduin made a sound of absolute mortification as he buried his head in Wrathion’s chest, he could pray Shaw didn’t hear anything but there was no hiding from the senses of a dragon. At least he was thankful that they didn’t walk in on them, small miracles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last chapter coming up (soon I hope)


End file.
